Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

"Hey, Sorin, if you finish this game in the future, will you still continue with your life?" Yuna thought for a moment and steered the conversation in another direction. "You have your own job now, so you'll probably still be busy with work."

“After I finish this game, I’ll come to Tokyo to find you. Back in the first level, all the players’ meticulously designed appearances were restored to their actual appearances, so even after we leave, you don’t have to worry about us not recognizing each other.” Sorin sensed the concern in Yuna’s words and said with a smile, “Of course, you might recognize me first, after all, I’m quite confident in my looks. What happens after that is another matter. I renewed my contract with MagicTV for another year yesterday, and because of the special nature of my livestreaming channel, I’ll probably be a rich man by the time I get out.”

“…That’s great.” When Yuna heard Sorin say that, the worry on her face turned into joy. However, she hesitated for a moment before continuing, “By the way, Sorin, since you can contact the outside world through the live broadcast room…can you help me send a message to my father? I need to tell him about my situation here.”

"And then I'll have to endure a soul-searching interrogation by an old professor? Asking me why I would go so far as to seduce his underage daughter?" Sorin recalled the time he first met Yuna, and Professor Shigemura's anxious tone, as if the sky had fallen. He sighed and said half-jokingly, "Of course, no problem. But speaking of which, it seems that Asuna's father hasn't spoken to me for a long time. I wonder what happened."

He was unaware that, with the help of his father and another group of hackers from Rainbow Team, devices with IP addresses located in Japan were unable to send any information to the live stream, and VPNs could not help them overcome this wall of sighs.

In fact, this was originally just Mo Tianfang's personal idea; he didn't want his son to bear too much pressure. However, from the day Grace contacted Solin and the two reached a cooperation agreement, officially launching the [SAO Rescue Operation], the first task of all the hackers in the Rainbow Team was to prevent Solin from being interfered with in any way, and one of the projects was this Wailing Wall.

“Then it’s settled~ Don’t worry, Father shouldn’t make things too difficult for you… probably.” That’s what Yuna said, but she wasn’t really sure. “It’s okay, he’ll prioritize my request, and he’ll probably be satisfied just to see my message and won’t care about so many details.”

The snow was falling heavier and heavier. Perhaps because the virtual world doesn't require much attention to science, although it looked like heavy snow that would trigger an emergency response team, no one felt that level of discomfort; at most, the perceived temperature had dropped slightly.

As someone who has lived in the north for many years, Sorin naturally has a high tolerance for cold; this level of cold even felt a little warm to him. He glanced to the side and saw that although Yuna hadn't explicitly said she was cold, he noticed she was shivering slightly, so he draped his coat over her shoulders.

"If you feel cold, go back now," he whispered in Yuna's ear. "You still have a day off tomorrow. It would be a real shame if you went back tonight and suddenly found yourself with a cold debuff, and then couldn't move around all tomorrow."

“I’m fine, Sorin, it’s warmer now.” Yuna pointed to the Senate uniform jacket that Sorin had just draped over her and shook her head. “Besides, this game probably doesn’t have a debuff like ‘catching a cold’ that’s too realistic.”

“Okay, maybe that’s how it is, but there’s always an advantage to thinking things through more. That’s always been my opinion.” Sorin’s gentle tone carried an undeniable insistence. Without waiting for a reply, he took Yuna’s hand and led her towards their current residence. The girl beside him was a little flustered, but she felt more at ease than anything else.

"Um... could you let go of my hand first? I have a special surprise for you," Yuna said somewhat awkwardly. Sorin naturally nodded and released Yuna's left hand.

Then Yu quietly moved her position behind Sorin, and in a moment of lull, picked up a small clump of snow from the ground, rolled it into a snowball in her hand, and threw it discreetly onto Sorin's magnificent silver hair.

"Which troublemaker threw a snowball at me?" Sorin shouted exaggeratedly. He guessed that it was Yuna who, seeing the heavy snow, suddenly acted childishly and threw a snowball at him. But at this moment, the priority was to let Yuna have fun. As for taking a snowball himself... well, he would take it.

So, what followed was a bizarre scene on the main street of Lobia's eastern district: a seemingly energetic brown-haired girl kept picking up snowballs and throwing them at a handsome silver-haired young man beside her, who kept trying to find out who was throwing the snowballs but couldn't, making him look particularly comical. This situation only stopped when Sorin finally returned to his lodgings, by which time he was practically a snowman.

72. The Inner World and the Outer World (Part 4)

Tokyo, the temporary operations center for the SAO rescue operation.

"After careful investigation, we have ruled out the possibility that Kayaba Akihiko is still in Tokyo. The problem now is that, due to the obstruction of the Japanese government, we no longer have enough manpower to continue investigating his location."

Grace pointed to the Tokyo map on the wall, then forcefully drew an X on it with her red and blue pencil. She sat back down, took off her glasses with trembling hands, and slammed the pencil onto the table.

“Those idiots at the visa office rejected Alibi, Twitch, and Mute’s entry requests one after another, and then labeled us as illegal immigrants. Now there are police everywhere, and if we get caught, we will be extradited back to our country… I have never felt so fucking terrified.”

"I have a question. Isn't it usually SIX who handles the dirty work of arguing with the other country's government? So what is he doing now?" Chu Ziyu, sitting on the other side of the table, casually stubbed out his cigarette in the glass jar next to him, and then asked with interest, "And why did your Rainbow Squad drag me along to do the work?"

“Because you’re still a member of Rainbow Squad as a first-generation member, and Clark’s retirement doesn’t mean you have to retire too. Besides, no one will believe you if you go out and say you’re over fifty.” Grace answered Chu Ziyu’s question succinctly. “And we need everyone we can use right now, even the most lazy kobolds, you understand?”

"Alright, alright... I shouldn't have picked you up back then. If you think about it carefully, I've cleaned up so many messes for you since 06..." Chu Ziyu sat there muttering to himself for a while, then suddenly became serious. "Okay, now codename [Blank] is back and will command the [SAO Rescue Operation], and I'll call Vivi over too. Are you satisfied now?"

“I’m just worried that my son has found someone, but we haven’t. Originally, we were supposed to be ahead in this regard, but now it’s turned out like this.” Mo Tianfang looked out the window, where rows of police officers were patrolling the street. “By the way, this should be the SAT’s home stadium, right? Yumiko is here now. What is Jiang Xia doing?”

“Jiang Xia, that idiot, is planning to slack off in Akihabara during his vacation. He agreed to our plan, but only with the two yokai that act as his Stand users,” Hibana replied without hesitation. “His exact words were, ‘You guys are enough to deal with a guy who’s a mad scientist. Playing with yokai around you guys is no different than playing with yokai in Akihabara. I won’t go there. Just call me if you need anything.’ That’s all.”

“Although it sounds a bit off, it makes perfect sense. And to put it bluntly, all you need to do is find Kayaba Akihiko, and then have Surat place a volley of explosives from the second floor where he is, and everything will be fine. It’s a typical Maoist approach.” Blitz nodded, and although the others didn’t show it outwardly, they basically thought the same thing.

"Wait a minute, my son messaged me again. Wait, what's this now..." Mo Tianfang held his phone, looking at the long message in the inbox that included a letter and some explanation. He helplessly covered his forehead and casually replied, "Okay, get back to work."

“Well, the only good news is that my son has successfully escaped singlehood, and his girlfriend is the daughter of Kayaba Akihiko’s teacher. She asked me to help deliver a letter. I think we can start from this direction and investigate some usable information.” He waved his phone, then looked at the only one among the group who wasn’t wanted by the police, his voice inexplicably trembling. “I’ll copy this letter later, but it’s a private letter, so I won’t show it to you. Mr. Chu, could you please help me deliver this letter?”

“Alright, since it’s a letter from home, we can’t not show it to you. But you need to make sure you haven’t hidden any information about this message, Mox,” Grace said seriously. “Looks like we still have a fight going on. We don’t need to just press Enter and GG right away. And Mox, you can just call him Kobold or Blank, no need to be so polite. We’re all on the same side.”

"Okay, I can guarantee that this brat isn't going to get all sentimental for no reason..."

——————About an hour ago, in the East District, the fourth floor of SAO——————

After making a scene the whole way, Sorin still pretended not to have noticed anything, muttering, "Why can't I learn from Soji?" and "Yuna, help me find that troublemaker." Of course, when they were almost at the inn, Yuna patiently brushed all the snow off Sorin. Seeing Sorin's nonchalant smile, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"Hey Yuna, do you know how we northerners usually deal with these troublemakers when we have a snowball fight?" Solin said to Yuna suddenly, then pressed his right hand on Yuna's right shoulder and subtly tripped her heel with his foot, catching her just before she fell backward onto the snow.

"Then a lot of people will run out and kick snow into this human-shaped snow pit, eventually burying this troublemaker in it, that's how it is." Solin deliberately scared Youna, looking at her face full of fear, and then laughed, "I was just kidding, look how scared you are."

"It was clearly your description of the scene that was too scary, okay? And you blame me for being afraid of this kind of thing..." Yuna complained helplessly for a moment, then pretended to be angry and punched Solin twice with her little fists. "Oh right, let's cancel our rooms separately later. Staying in one room will save some money, and I also have some things I want to talk to you about."

"If you'd like, that would be even better..." Solin concealed his almost exhilarating excitement with a nonchalant tone, then whispered in a voice only he could hear, "However, I'm telling you the truth. What do you think a snowball fight in the North is like..."

The new room contained only a large bed, which was expected by both of them. There was also a table and two chairs. Yuna was currently sitting at the table, a quill pen in hand, scribbling incessantly on a parchment notebook. Sorin, on the other hand, had already brought up the Japanese input method's on-screen keyboard, and was standing by the window, holding Yuna's elbow flute, playing a disjointed tune.

The letter wasn't written in a long time. Although SAO only had quill pens as writing tools, Yuna seemed to have used this unconventional tool before and didn't feel particularly awkward, writing very quickly. Of course, it's also possible that she had planned this all along and had already thought about what to write, only mentioning it to Sorin now. Sorin waited until the letter was finished, then transmitted its contents verbatim to Mo Tianfang, along with some things he wanted to say himself.

[With such heavy smog in Harbin, what's the point of watching Sirius, you old liar? I couldn't find you that old bastard from the Kapok farm, but I found you a daughter-in-law. Happy? I don't blame you for leaving the country when I was four. It's hard to balance family and country, I understand. I guess you thought the same thing when my grandfather passed away. Now it seems your son is doing quite well on his own. I will go back alive. I must see you alive one last time. You better wait until then, you understand… and finally… I love you, Father.]

73. The Inner World and the Outer World (Part 5)

Nothing noteworthy happened that night, nor was anything noteworthy likely to happen. The only interesting thing was that, unsurprisingly, Suolin, who was sharing a bed with a man for the first time, suffered from insomnia.

The next day, Yuna got up very early. After she dressed and changed into her everyday clothes, Sorin was still not awakened by the noise. At this moment, he had a few strands of hair on his face, and he lay there quietly. Yuna admired his peaceful sleeping face with a smile for a long time.

Time seems to pass slowly when people are doing nothing. Yuna initially thought so too, until she stared at Sorin for almost an hour without doing anything. What interrupted her wasn't anything else, but Sorin, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opening his eyes.

"Good morning..." Solin straightened up, rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. Then he clicked on the menu and put on all his equipment. "Last night I thought about it and realized that there didn't seem to be any places worth visiting in the city. How about we go on a picnic in a few days?"

"A picnic? Are we going out of town?" Yuna was still a little scared when she heard Suolin say that, after all, she had just experienced such a battle yesterday. "What if we run into those red-named players again?"

“It’s simple. When you see someone, just teleport back, and leave the rest to me.” Solin seemed unconcerned. “I’ve never known the saying ‘don’t chase a cornered enemy’ in PvP. I only know how to beat a drowning dog. If I had been alone yesterday, none of the six would have escaped.”

"...I just feel that if something like this happens, today's trip might be ruined. We don't get along very well." Yuna shook her head, but she didn't have any objection to Solin's statement. Although she didn't understand why Solin could kill people without batting an eye in this murder game, she didn't ask him that question.

"Let's wander around the city then. Actually, I wanted to take you to the dark elves' castle. I thought it would be beautiful there if it snowed last time," Sorin said with a hint of regret. "Let's go then. I'll change my clothes first. Is there anything else we need to prepare?"

"That's all, then I'll head out first." After saying that, Yuna left the room, while Sorin changed into the pure white dress with light blue patterns she wore last night. As for her equipment, she only carried a rapier [Duel Rapier] at her waist and put on a wide-brimmed hat with the same color scheme and rose decorations before following her out of the room.

Such a pair would certainly attract attention on the street, but Solin didn't seem to care at all that he was becoming a walking flashbang. Right now, the only thing important to him was making sure the girl beside him had as much fun as possible. However, unseen by him, there was another group of people who had given up their precious Christmas holiday. Of course, this wasn't the infamous Laughing Coffin guild, still plotting something somewhere, but rather the real-world Rainbow Squad.

——————Tokyo, Unknown Building, Independent Office——————

"I believe the institute's security is quite good; at least it wouldn't allow an unidentified person to enter my office in such a bizarre way. Am I right, young sir?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in a white coat. He stared at the boy in front of him as if he were facing a formidable enemy, and then subtly reached under the table, trying to press the alarm button.

"Don't be so nervous, Professor Shigemura. I'm just a messenger. And you can consider taking your hand off the alarm button, because it won't work." Chu Ziyu smiled at Shigemura Tetsudai, then pulled out a CBJ-MS with a silencer from his pocket and gestured at him a couple of times. "In our country, there's a saying: 'Guests are always welcome.' Although I'm here uninvited, I still hope to be treated like a guest. By the way, my name is Chu Ziyu."

"I'm just a professor. I don't have anything worth you going to such lengths to steal. If that's your goal, then I'm sorry." Hearing this, Tetsuhiro Shigemura reluctantly lowered his hand from the alarm button, slumping back in his chair. "Who...or rather, who are you people?"

"I don't feel regretful, because I never asked anything of you. Or rather, what I asked for was your cooperation and support, and I'm 100% certain you'll support our cause." Chu Ziyu smiled as he put away the CBJ-MS, shrugging to indicate he meant no harm. "As for who we are... have you heard of the Rainbow Team?"

“I’ve heard about you. After all, my security clearance level is high enough to know of your existence, and one of my students, Jiang Xiayou, is also in your team.” Shigemura Tetsudai breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the name [Rainbow Team]. He knew the newcomers weren’t terrorists or spies sent by another country to steal research data. However, he was still puzzled by Chu Ziyu’s actions. “But you shouldn’t have appeared here in such a terrorist-like manner, right? And what do you want my help with?”

"More importantly, my first task is to deliver a letter to you. It's right here." Chu Ziyu didn't answer the question immediately. Instead, he took out a brown paper envelope from the pocket where he had just pulled out his gun and handed it to Shigemura Tetsuya. "You don't need to doubt the contents of the letter. We have our own methods."

With a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, Shigemura Tetsuya opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. The letter was divided into two parts. The first part was a letter from Yuna, briefly introducing her current situation, while the second part was written by Mo Yulan, which contained roughly the same content and also briefly introduced herself.

"...Why should I believe that this is truly a letter written to me by my daughter and her...boyfriend, and not something you've made up to deceive me, Mr. Chu?" After reading the letter, Tetsuhiro Shigemura's lips twitched. He frowned deeply, his hands clenched into fists, and he clearly gritted his teeth when he said the word "boyfriend."

“Actually, one of our team members’ sons is trapped here. He opened the live stream before entering the game, thus gaining the only channel to connect the inside of SAO with the outside world. You can find it if you search for it. Of course, to prevent him from being disturbed, we blocked all Japanese devices that tried to send messages to the live stream.” Chu Ziyu explained, and also showed the live stream content to Tetsuya Shigemura on his phone. Unfortunately, Mo Yulan was on a date with Yuna, so the unlucky Professor Shigemura once again witnessed a scene that infuriated him.

"Our current intelligence indicates that Kayaba Akihiko may be living in the world he created, Sword Art Online, where he can log off at any time. Our plan is to have this streamer identify which of the current players is Kayaba Akihiko, while we investigate his hiding place outside. To prevent him from using the more than 7,000 surviving players as hostages, we will break into and kill him as soon as we confirm his presence in SAO."

"Good plan. So, what you want to ask me is his location?" After hearing the plan, Tetsuya Shigemura nodded approvingly, and his attitude towards Chu Ziyu was no longer as resistant as before, although he was still very angry.

"But unfortunately, I don't know his location either, and he even kidnapped another of my students, Rinko Kamishiro. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking in person, but it seems I won't have that chance now. Also, please tell that brat to protect Yuna, and I'll look for him when we get out."

74. A Bizarre City Defense Battle

"Friends coming from behind, cut off the back row! Take out their archers! Attack the archers! Only attack the archers!"

Sorin was yelling in the guild chat, having just taken down a forest elf assault soldier who had run right up to him. Beside him were Kirito and Asuna, also fighting fiercely. Yuna was still in the back, playing her flute and casting buffs on her teammates. The battle was chaotic. At the innermost part of the central passageway of the castle were Sorin and his three companions, along with the dark elf troops. In the middle were the forest elf assault soldiers, further out were their archer units, and finally, the Edelweiss members who had just arrived.

As for why the planned vacation turned out this way, we have to go back to two hours earlier. After spending an hour wandering around the city, Sorin and Yuna couldn't find any places suitable for a date, like parks or amusement parks. Of course, Sorin had already guessed that there probably weren't any such places in the city, and Yuna, after wandering around a couple of times, concluded that the city was boring.

"So, how about we go out for a walk? It won't be a problem," Sorin suggested to Yuna, taking the opportunity. "After all, it's a rare vacation, it would be such a waste to end it here, wouldn't it?"

"Alright then, but you have to protect me, okay, Sorin?" Yuna nodded, agreeing to Sorin's request. They had gone to check earlier and found that Kirito had moored the phoenix-tail boat he had prepared for the two of them at the port in the south of the city, and now it was clear that they could use the boat.

Their destination remained the same as before: the Dark Elf castle—Yufel City. Although it was still snowing quite heavily, there weren't the limited visibility and blocked waterways typical of snow-covered navigation, making their journey relatively easy. Yuna had brought her fishing rod again, but the young lady's fishing skills were still terrible. Sorin had to occasionally stop to help Yuna deal with the fish monsters she caught, which slowed their journey considerably.

Of course, neither of them intended to rush, which was perfect. After a long voyage, the white-tinged top of the castle gradually came into view.

"As expected. The castle will indeed become very beautiful after the snowfall." Sorin nodded approvingly, "It should be a wonderful trip."

"It's okay. As long as you're here, any trip will be wonderful." Yuna put away her fishing rod, smiled, and stood beside Sorin, subtly taking Sorin's right hand.

However, upon arriving at the port of Yuffie Castle, Sorin suddenly spotted a familiar phoenix-tailed boat. It was Kirito and Asuna's [Tinner].

"Kirito-kun is here too?" Yuna tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Then is Asuna here as well?"

“I guess so. I didn’t expect there were more than just the two of us traveling here, but we haven’t seen any other players’ ships yet, so it should only be the two of them.” Sorin pondered for a while, then sighed helplessly, “He said he was only 14 years old, and he’s already taking Asuna out on a date. This young man knows a thing or two.”

"Understand? Understand what?" Yuna still looked somewhat puzzled when he said that.

"You want to understand? Never mind, this plot doesn't quite fit." Solin subconsciously finished the sentence, then realized that the current situation didn't seem to be suitable for this development. "Anyway, let's go into the city first. Our esteemed reputation level should be enough for us to go to the top of that watchtower and take a look."

"But something just doesn't feel right. Solin, don't you think... the water flow is a bit abnormal right now?"

“Something’s not right… There is something there. It looks like some large ships are approaching. No, it’s a fleet of large ships… WTF!” Sorin stood on the shore thinking for a while, and then as soon as he looked up, he saw four or five large warships flying the flags of forest elves, rushing menacingly toward the waterway at the gate of Yufil City, while alarms sounded in response within the city.

"What do we do now?" Yuna drew her sword of skill from her waist and looked at Sorin, who was standing to the side.

"What should we do... Let's retreat into the city first and see if it's a plot-driven death or a faction quest." Sorin pulled Yuna and ran into the city, quickly giving instructions as he went, "Kirito and the other guy are doing a faction quest right now, let me ask them first."

After saying that, he sent a message to Kirito. And the reply came almost instantly.

[A hidden faction quest following the shipbuilding mission: The forest elves' siege force has arrived, and we need to defend this place.]

"Alright, alright." Solin shook his head, then opened the guild channel and sent a message: [@All members, emergency assembly! Coordinates (227, 307). Everyone must be present within half an hour at the latest, ready for battle!]

The battle wasn't particularly difficult, especially after all the Edelweiss guild members arrived and began targeting the enemy archers. The scales of victory had already tipped in favor of the Dark Elves. This wasn't as precarious as the battle with the otherworldly magician, because Kirito later even persuaded the castle's lord to join the fight. Now, everyone was watching as the lord entered the fray and unleashed his power, ending the battle in less than ten minutes. He then decided to give all the participating players appropriate rewards.

"What's the difference between me and those shut-ins who just stay home and grind games during holidays? Why did it turn out like this...? My first date with the girl I like, a castle trip that lasts all day. Two happy things combined, bringing me even more joy... But why did it turn out like this?" Solin muttered to himself, then looked at the barrage of "Kill" comments in the upper right corner of the chat and quickly stopped talking, focusing on the reward items offered by the leader of the dark elf castle (actually, the Viscount).

After careful consideration, he realized that he had actually profited from this. This time, he had directly called on all the members of the guild to participate in the battle, and after the victory, all the participants would receive a weapon or piece of equipment. Those who made outstanding contributions, such as Sorin, Yuna, Kirito, and Asuna, would each receive two pieces of equipment.

Sorin's Weapon Mastery skill has now reached level five, and his current weapon limit is six. Five of these slots are for one-handed swords (swords with shields), rapiers, katanas, dual daggers, and scythes. Sorin was originally planning to fill the sixth slot with a more support-oriented weapon, but after searching for a while, he suddenly saw a familiar design.

The weapon is called "Survivor," a curved sword, equipment level 16, with a maximum enhancement level of 10, making it one of the top weapons currently available. However, its top status is still reflected in its enhancement level. Including this weapon, Sorin now has three weapons with an enhancement level of 10 or higher, which will consume a significant amount of Cole's resources. Even with Sorin's current wealth and resources, he's starting to feel the strain.

"So, our first choice is to exchange for the [Survivor]. Those who have watched my ACO (Assassin's Creed Origins) gameplay know that I've practically mastered this weapon. Of course, I don't know if this weapon has effects like instant charge and combat continuation. The second exchange slot... we see here is a ring that increases agility and rapier mastery skills. The design is quite nice. Although the rapier mastery skill isn't useful to us, I've still decided to exchange for it and then..."

Then he redeemed the ring as well, examined it for a while, and then put it away. Coincidentally, Yuna chose a crown-type item, a circular ring worn on her forehead, and a ring similar in design to the one on Solin's hand, and quietly put it away as well. Neither of them knew that the other had chosen a ring, but the viewers watching the live stream from a third-person perspective saw it all clearly.